


Within the Hollow Tree

by Essie



Category: Merlin (BBC)
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-07-29
Updated: 2010-07-29
Packaged: 2017-10-10 20:45:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,028
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/104084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Essie/pseuds/Essie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Merlin and Morgana are trapped inside a tree together. There is quite a lot of idiocy and   miscommunication all around. There is also quite a lot of smut.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Within the Hollow Tree

**Author's Note:**

> This is for the One Plot, Many Pairings challenge. Prompt: Character A and character B are trapped in a small space and unable to get out. They are tired and uncomfortable and a little too close for comfort. All they have each other and that makes things both better and worse. Characters are the property of the BBC and legend. This was created for fun, not for profit.

“No don’t!” Morgana shouted as Merlin recited the words of a spell, the ancient syllables sliding dangerously over his tongue, and his eyes glowing golden, cat-like in the darkness.

 

The spell hit the inside wall of the tree and rebounded, as she knew it would, ricocheting across the tight space, where she and Merlin were cramped together. Her skin prickled, with the awareness of Merlin’s magic, she could feel the spell trapped in the atmosphere around her, sending live shocks through her fingertips, down her spine, across her teeth, and the roots of her hair.

 

“We specifically designed it to be resistant to magic. It can’t be opened, not with magic, so unless you have an axe somewhere on you we’re not getting out until Morgause notices I’ve gone missing and comes to find me.” Morgana glared at Merlin in the darkness, even though she knew he couldn’t see her.

 

Merlin harrumphed a sigh and she could feel his body sag against the tree, as his breathe ran down the side of her face and neck, making her shiver. “So I’d be right in supposing your evil plan, was not supposed to include trapping yourself in here with me?”

 

“No,” she stuck her chin up, angry at his phrasing “And I am not the one with evil plans here. I am trying to help my people. Unlike some.” She spat the last two words at him.

 

He snorted “Right by murdering someone. That’s not evil at all.”

 

His words stung. How dare he! “You” she spluttered, angry “you don’t get to judge me. Uther deserves death, after everything he’s done. He’s a murderer, responsible for genocide. He’d kill either one of us if he knew what we were. And you’re defending him!” She was shouting, her words echoing in the small enclosure.

 

“Because I don’t want to be like him!” He shouted back. “And you don’t have to be either. Don’t you get it Morgana, he kills people, people with magic, because we’re different, and he’s scared of us, scared of what we could do to him. And if I killed him, or let him die, just because it would make my life easier, would mean I didn’t have to live in fear anymore, well then I’d be no better than him.”

 

Merlin’s words made sense, but coming from him they only made her angrier. “You are so full of shit, Merlin.” She hardly ever swore, but right now her lady-like tendencies didn’t seem very important. She tilted her head up, so that their gazes were level in the darkness, their faces so close she could feel his breathe against her mouth. When she spoke again her voice was low and dangerous, her lips lightly brushing his as she formed the words. “You poisoned me.”

 

Merlin didn’t speak. Her words hung in the air between them, and it hurt. It hurt remembering that moment, when she’d realized the boy she’d trusted, Merlin, sweet Merlin, with his big ears and goofy smiles, had fed her hemlock. She’d always felt drawn to him, wanted to look his way when he entered a room, touch his arm when he passed her in the hall. She had wanted to keep him safe and make him smile and tell him all her secrets, and when he’d kept them, when he’d been so kind to her she’d even thought- But it didn’t matter what she’d thought because it had just been his magic, she realized now, calling to hers. It must have been, because the Merlin she thought she knew, the Merlin she – well he wasn’t real. It had all been a lie.

 

“I’m sorry.” Merlin’s voice cut through the silence, scratchy and miserable “Morgana, I’m so sorry. I didn’t want to, but there was no other choice. If I hadn’t gone through with it than everyone in Camelot would have died. Not just Uther but everyone. Hundreds of innocent people would have died. Gwen would have died. _Arthur_ would have died. And it was-” here his voice broke off, and she heard him take a shaky breathe “It was awful what I did to you, Morgana. You’ve every right to hate me. You were my friend. I genuinely cared about you, and I-” He broke off again, and this time he didn’t continue, but that was alright, because Morgana’s mind was still stuck on his last words: _I genuinely cared about you._

 

“I didn’t know.” Morgana said at last, and Merlin shifted against her. “I didn’t know what Morgause had planned when I agreed to it. If I’d known she meant to kill everyone, not just Uther, I never would have said yes.”

 

“Why are you still with her then?” Merlin asked “If you don’t agree with her methods?”

 

Morgana sighed “It’s not that simple. Morgause is my half-sister, and she’s a good person at heart. She reminds me a little of Arthur sometimes, actually, only she’s prettier and not nearly as obnoxious” Merlin laughed, and she continued “but she’s never lived in Camelot. To her Camelot is just an enemy power, one that needs to be stopped in order to keep magic users, people like you and I, safe.”

 

“You don’t have to stay with her though,” Merlin insisted “You can come back to Camelot. We’ve really missed you.”

 

Morgana smiled and leaned into Merlin “Thank you. But the thing is- Oh!” Morgana did not get to explain about Uther’s oppressive presence, as her change in position had made her very aware of the fact that Merlin was hard. He was hard and pressed snugly against her belly. It was incredibly distracting.

 

“I’m sorry!” Merlin tried to squirm away from her but there wasn’t much room. The friction his movements created just made her more attuned to every place their bodies were touching. “It’s just that it’s a very tight squeeze in here, and you’re, erm, well, you’re an incredibly attractive woman, which you know, of course.”

 

Morgana cut off his embarrassed rambling by pressing her body flush against his. They both gasped at the contact. “You don’t need to apologize.” Her voice sounded low and strange to her own ears.

 

“I – I don’t?” He stuttered, and she wrapped her hand around the back of his neck.

 

“No.” She brought their mouths together.

 

Merlin moaned into the kiss and Morgana could feel the reverberations low in her belly. His lips were warm and gentle against her own, but Morgana needed more. She ran her tongue along the seam of his lips and opened her mouth to deepen this kiss. This was apparently all the prompting he needed because his hands were suddenly on her hips pulling her close, long fingers curling into her flesh, and sending trails of fire across her skin to settle down between her legs.

 

Merlin deepened the kiss, and it was Morgana’s turn to moan this time, as he plundered her mouth, their tongues running slickly along each other. Morgana was writing now, Merlin’s wiry corded muscle beneath her fingertips, his heady taste filling her mouth, his long hot cock pulsing against her belly, and his magic still humming and alive in the air all around her. It was sensory overload, and still she couldn’t get enough.

 

She hiked her leg up, wrapping it around his waist, her foot settling against the curve of his arse. The new position brought her wet center into contact with his cock, and the kiss broke as they both groaned. Merlin ran his hand along her bare leg, fingers curling under her knee then moving up her thigh again. Morgana twisted her hips desperate for more contact, and Merlin bucked in response. She whimpered against his mouth. It felt so good. He was so close, and she needed him inside her right now. But, fuck, she didn’t want to get pregnant.

 

Merlin seemed to be thinking the same thing, because he gently pushed her away, one hand still on the bare skin of her hip, underneath the bunched fabric of her skirts.

 

Morgana groaned at the loss of contact, but then his hand moved from her hip and – Oh! Oh, this could work. – she thought as he brought his hand down to dip between her legs, fingertips brushing over her slick folds. He ran a finger from her opening to her clit, and Morgana gave whimper as he settled it there, making tiny circular movements against the little bud. It felt incredible.

 

And it was driving her crazy. “I need-” She panted “Inside me.” It wasn’t a full sentence, but Merlin hummed low in his throat and brought his other hand around to where she was dripping, aching for him. Morgana’s head hit the wall of the tree, and she nearly went blind with pleasure when he pressed two long digits to her opening sliding them into her slick heat, all the way to the knuckle.

 

He was so deep, and it felt so good, one hand moving circles on her clit and the other buried inside her. And then he moved. He pumped his fingers in and out of her body, an obscene smacking noise accompanying his movements.

 

“Oh god.” She moaned. “Merlin.” She was _so close._ “Don’t stop.”

 

Merlin didn’t stop. He sped up his movements, and that was it. Morgana felt herself clench tightly around his fingers, every muscle in her body going rigid, and then she collapsed against the wall, boneless and dizzy.

 

“Wow.” She breathed.

 

She thought she could hear the smile in Merlin’s voice as he said “Thanks.”

 

A wicked smile twisted over Morgana’s mouth. “Don’t thank me yet.” She placed her hand over the tented front of Merlin’s breeches.

 

“Morgana,” he moaned.

 

The remnants of Merlin’s spell lingered in the air, clinging to her skin and hair. It gave her an idea.

 

“Place your hand in mine.” She whispered into the shell of Merlin’s ear. He obeyed, taking the hand of hers that wasn’t already touching him, and interlocking their fingers. She could feel the slide of her own juices on his fingers and palm where they touched.

 

Morgana took a deep breathe, trying to remember the spell Morgause had used. She envisioned the power center in the cradle of his palm, and the matching one in hers. She whispered the words.

 

It was like being hit by a tidal wave. There was so much power, raw and bright and everywhere. It was pouring into her in crashing swells filling her up to the very brim and flooding over. She tried to push some of her own magic back at Merlin, to complete the circle, but she wasn’t sure if she managed, because she was so overwhelmed, drowning in his power. It was heady, dizzying, alive, and perfect. She could swim in this forever and never wish for anything else.

 

Merlin wrenched his hand out of hers and the connection broke. The experience left her feeling cold and alone, even though Merlin was still holding her close with one arm wrapped loosely around her back. She felt very small, constrained in her own skin, with all her senses dulled.

 

Her breath came in heavy pants as she tried to settle back into her own body, tried to remember that she was Morgana, and she was here. Absently she noted that Merlin’s breeches were wet where her other hand was still pressed against his length. He had come.

 

“Er. That was-” Merlin began stunned and panting.

 

“Yeah.” Morgana agreed.

 

“Wow.” He let out a long breath echoing her words from earlier.

 

Morgana laughed, and Merlin joined her. They held onto each other, sweaty and breathless and laughing. Morgana felt a lightness in her chest, joyous and soaring. She thought it might be the result of an orgasm followed by a magical overdose, and possibly the finite amount of air the two of them probably had in this tree.

 

“You know I still can’t let you kill Uther.” Merlin said his words muffled in her hair.

 

Morgana rolled her eyes “There’s not really a whole lot you can do about it from here.”

 

Merlin laughed “True.”

 

“Besides,” She said, as she leaned into his embrace “Your argument about not wanting to be like him makes no sense. You tried to kill me so that a lot more innocent people could live, right?” Morgana felt Merlin tense at the mention of his attempted murder, but he merely nodded. “Well if Uther were to die the witch burnings would stop. We could save a lot of innocent men and women by killing Uther. It’s the same principle.”

 

Merlin was silent for a long while “It’s not as definite though.” He said at last “I mean you don’t know for a fact that any of those people are going to be caught doing magic.” Morgana could hear the uncertainty in his voice. He was not convinced by his own argument. She stayed silent.

 

“Besides,” he continued “Uther’s Arthur’s father.”

 

Morgana blinked, thrown by Merlin’s non-sequitor. “So?” She asked.

 

“It’s just” Merlin said “I couldn’t let Uther die, because if Uther died Arthur would be devastated, and I couldn’t do that to him.”

 

“You don’t think you could-” Morgana said slowly, putting all the pieces together. “Do that to him.” And like a punch from a cannibal it hit her and immediately started eating her insides.

 

_Arthur would have died._

 

Morgana recoiled from Merlin like he’d burnt her. The truth was coming together in her head, a thousand little things clicking into place to make an awful sort of sense. How had she missed this? She felt sick and unbelievably stupid.

 

“Morgana?” Merlin ventured, clearly thrown by her sudden change in behavior.

 

Morgana tried to hold onto her dignity, drawing herself up straight, chin held high, but she could still feel the phantom ache of Merlin’s fingers inside her, still smell him all over her, and taste his saliva in her mouth. She was still sticky with what they had done. Sensations which had, moments ago, seemed pleasant and beautiful now left her feeling only hollow and used. Part of her wanted very badly just to break down and cry. She wasn’t going to do that. “I’m sorry,” She said instead, voice cold and polite “This was a mistake. I didn’t realize-” She left the sentence hanging, because she very much did not want to finish it. Instead, she said. “It won’t happen again.”

 

“What?” Merlin gaped at her, hurt and confusion warring in his voice “Why? Did I do something wrong?”

 

“I thought you didn’t want to upset your precious prince?” Morgana spat.

 

“What? Arthur? What does he have to do with anything? Is this about me not wanting Uther dead?” He seemed genuinely confused. Maybe he was, Morgana thought. Maybe he didn’t understand. Merlin always had been a little slow on the uptake. But what Merlin did and did not understand didn’t particularly matter, because Morgana understood. Merlin cared about Arthur more than anything in the world. He loved Arthur, wholly and completely, and no one else would ever come close in his heart. Merlin had proved it time and again, but Morgana hadn’t understood until a few moments ago. Now she knew. Nothing more could happen between Merlin and herself.

 

“Did you know,” Morgana said, side-stepping Merlin’s question “Morgause intends to kill anyone who gets in her way of ridding the world of Uther Pendragon. I do hope Arthur hasn’t done anything stupid.”

 

Though the words were technically true, Morgana didn’t believe Arthur was in any real danger. If the plan worked he would never know of it until Morgause was too far gone for him to do anything. And if the plan didn’t work, well Morgause was outnumbered in Camelot. The smart thing for her to do would be to leave as soon as she was discovered.

 

Merlin’s sharp intake of breath, told her all she needed to know, and then he said “I need to get to Arthur.”

 

“By all means,” Morgana said archly “Don’t let me stop you.”

 

Merlin ignored her “I just need to find a way out this damn tree.” He was muttering to himself, and Morgana could feel the magic in the oak’s trunk building exponentially.

 

“Merlin,” She asked, apprehension in her voice “What are you doing?”

 

Merlin didn’t answer, but the magic grew. It was pressing in all around her, suffocating her, and Morgana was more than a little worried that he’d kill them both if he continued.

 

They tumbled out of the tree and into a heap on the ground. Morgana closed her eyes against the sudden brightness.

 

“I was just contemplating the best way to get you out,” a familiar voice said above them. Morgana squinted up to see the blurry shape of Morgause standing beside them.

 

“What have you done to Arthur?” Merlin demanded from beneath her, and Morgana scrambled off of him, to stand beside Morgause.

 

Morgause didn’t answer Merlin as she looked between the two of them. Morgana knew what she must be seeing: their ruffled appearance, the smell of sex stale on the both of them, and the way Morgana had bolted from Merlin as soon as she had the space to move.

 

“Are you alright, Morgana?” Morgause asked her, the words laced with concern. It gave Morgana a warm feeling inside.

 

“I’m fine.” She answered, and then she turned her attention back to Merlin. “Come with us.” She offered, willing him to say yes. “You don’t belong in Camelot, not with magic like yours. You could be with your own people. You’d never have to hide again.”

 

Merlin looked torn, and for a moment Morgana thought he might agree, and then he said “I’m sorry. I want to, but I can’t. Arthur needs me.” He sounded like he was in pain. That made two of them.

 

Morgana took a step away from him, and slid her hand into Morgause’s comfortable grip.

 

“Would you like to leave now, sister?” Morgause asked her gently.

 

“Yes.” She responded, tone cold and guarded “I very much would like to leave.”

 

Morgana clung to her sister’s hand as Morgause swept her away in a gust of gentle magic.

 

 

_fin._


End file.
